Pandemic Travel to the Rockies
I naively thought that by the summer of 2020, the pandemic would be over and by fall we’d be travelling again, but when our November flight to Spain and Turkey got cancelled by Air Canada mid-July, reality started to set in. We were given the opportunity to rebook later, but we decided that for 2020, we will travel locally. We have always wanted to travel to the Rockies, but we kept on putting it off, so with five weeks of vacation to use and nowhere to go, we decided that we will drive to Alberta from Winnipeg for two weeks in September of 2020.
The first two days of the trip was spent driving to Calgary. We refused to drive the full 14 hours straight so we spent a night in Regina, so what would have been a two-hour flight became a 36-hour road trip. The hotel in Regina was one of many hotels we stayed at for this trip. We compared our hotel stays to when the trio in Harry Potter had to move from campsite to campsite in book 7, and every time they would move campsites, they would set up protective spells around them. We basically did the same because every hotel we went to, we whipped out our big container of Lysol wipes and wiped everything down, from the door handles, to light switches to all the surfaces we would potentially touch. If I’m being honest, I would say I resented having to do all that, but it was necessary for our peace of mind. Some people would probably say, well, maybe, you shouldn’t have been travelling at all in the first place, but I felt like we did our due diligence and taken measures to protect ourselves (i.e. driving and not flying, travelling in the off season, wiping everything down, wearing masks, not eating in restaurants, staying away from people, etc.). As selfish as it may sound, it was important for us to travel, and at the time, the cases were still low, the variants were not a thing, and I would decide the same thing 100x over if I had to do all over again.
We spent the first couple of days in Calgary visiting with my brother before driving out to the Rockies. It was nice seeing my brother and his family. I know we only live 14 hours apart, but we rarely see each other. I think one of the silver linings of this pandemic was that I got to visit them and stay with them for a few days. Our first stop after Calgary was Lake Louise. We spent our first night in Lake Louise at the iconic Fairmont, with a room overlooking the lake. Did we overpay for the hotel? Probably. Was it worth it? I would say that for that price, I’ve had better experiences elsewhere. We were supposed to stay there two nights, our first and last day at Lake Louise, but after the first night, we decided to cancel the second night and just drive out to Jasper a day early. The hotel itself is what you would expect a Fairmont to be, but for $500 a night, I really expected a little bit more than just the view of the lake from my window. The room was standard, the pool was very disappointing and the breakfast at the restaurant was ordinary. We did get a free canoeing voucher, but there were forest fires at the time so we weren’t even allowed to canoe the full hour on the voucher. There were definitely benefits to staying at the Fairmont, for example, not having to fight for a parking spot, being close to the trail head for the Big Beehive, and just having access to Lake Louise first thing in the morning and at sunset. It really was too bad that it was hazy the entire time we were there, so no decent photos were to be had.
After our night at The Fairmont, we stayed a couple of nights at Mountaineers Lodge located at the Lake Louise town. It was reasonably priced and a perfect place to get to everywhere you might want to go in the area. There was not much to do in the town of Lake Louise. There were a couple of delis where you can order takeout, but after dark, everything shuts down and there’s nothing to do. We didn’t see a lot of wildlife around either, which I was very surprised by. Here is a list of things we did and places we went while staying at Lake Louise:
1. Hiking – we hiked the Fairview Lookout, Lake Agnes, Big Beehive and Johnston Canyon. For Johnston Canyon, we booked breakfast at the Blackswift Bistro and this allowed us to drive all the way to the trailhead. If you don’t have a reservation, you have to walk an extra 10km before you even get to the trailhead because the highway leading up to it is closed to traffic, so a $30 breakfast is worth the price, I think. We struggled with Lake Agnes and Big Beehive, but the views are rewarding, even with the smoke and haze. We were not in shape, but it is doable, if you take your time.
2. Moraine Lake – staying at Lake Louise allowed us to get to Moraine Lake in the early hours and not worry about the parking lot being full. Even in the off season and on a weekday, the parking lot fills up by 7:30AM. We were able to get here early in the morning to catch sunrise, and late in the evening to take milky way photos. It is really jarring to be here when it’s pitch dark, and I kept imagining running into bears, but for the entire trip, we actually only saw one bear, and that is on the road on the way to Moraine Lake at dawn. We didn’t get to do any hikes because the hikes required at least four people, but after Lake Agnes and Big Beehive, this suited me just fine.
3. Morant’s Curve – a short drive from Lake Louise town, Morant’s Curve is a scenic little lookout with the mountains in the background and the railroad track in the foreground. If you’re lucky (or you’re patient), you can catch a train passing by.
4. Yoho National Park – about an hour drive away from Lake Louise town, Yoho National Park is actually already in British Columbia. The highlights of Yoho National Park include the Natural Bridge, Emerald Lake, Meeting of the Waters viewpoint and Takkakaw Falls. Takkakaw Falls wasn’t particularly wide, but it was tall (taller than Niagara!). We climbed as high as we can without getting too wet or slipping on the wet rocks.
After three nights in Lake Louise, we drove to Jasper. The drive to Jasper was an adventure filled day. There were so many stops on the Icefields Parkway that it took us 8 hours to get to Jasper from Lake Louise. The town of Jasper was bigger than Lake Louise. There were actual restaurants and breweries where you can dine in. There are many hiking trails and it was hard to pick which ones to do when you only have three nights. We stayed at Maligne Lodge. It was the cheapest place that we can find at Jasper and I probably will not stay here again. The room had that typical motel chemical smell, and the only way I got rid of it was to have the windows open the entire time we were there. I did like that we had our own entrance and we can park the car right in front of the door, so we didn’t have to drag our luggage far. There were a lot more wildlife sightings in Jasper. We saw elk, goats, deer, but still no bears. Here are the Jasper highlights:
1. Icefields Parkway – from Lake Louise, our first stop was Herbert Lake. We got there just as the sun was rising and there was a mist on the lake. Next stop was Bow Lake. This place looked like a postcard with the lake and the mountains and glaciers surrounding it. Next was Mistaya Canyon, just a short hike of Highway 1 and worth the quick stop. We then went for a quick stop at the Toe of the Athabasca Glacier. It was also a short walk from the highway, but the temperature difference between the parking lot and closer to the glacier was noticeable. It was also sad to see the markers where that toe had been (much closer to the highway) and sad to think what that glacier will be like in the next few years as humans cause irreversible damage to Earth. Our next stop was Tangle Falls, another quick stop just off the highway and we climbed to the very top of the falls. The parking is on the opposite side of the falls so just be careful crossing the street. We then stopped at Rocky Mountain Lodge for a quick lunch (and a quick nap) before continuing onto Sunwapta Falls. Most people stayed to view just the Upper Falls, but we hiked the 1.8 KM to the Lower Falls. It was a nice, short hike in the woods, but the Lower Falls themselves were not as nice as the Upper Falls. Our last stop on the Icefields Parkway was Athabasca Falls. This is another short walk from the parking lot, and it would have been a nice place to take milky way photos had the skies been clear.
2. Hiking – we hiked Maligne Canyon, Medicine Lake, Pyramid Island, Annette Lake and Valley of Five Lakes. Valley of Five Lakes was my favourite. It was a short 4.8KM loop and you’re rewarded with views of five turquoise lakes. We started out early and there was barely anyone in the parking lot, but by the time we left before lunchtime, the lot was full.
3. Jasper Sky tram – this experience was equal parts amazing and disappointing. It was amazing because the views at the top are breathtaking. We hiked up to Whistler’s Summit and our breaths were literally gone by the time we got up there, both from the views and the struggle to hike to the summit. The climb up was steep and challenging, but the climb down was equally as harrowing. It was disappointing because at the bottom, they promised social distancing while riding the tram, and on the way up, it wasn’t bad. It was still crowded, and people were definitely not 6-feet apart, but it was a 5-minute tram-ride so it is one of those calculated risks we took. On the way down was another story. They herded you into these waiting rooms where everyone is squeezed in like sardines, and the tram occupancy limits that they enforced on the way up is thrown out the window on the way down. If we had gotten sick from Covid from this trip, it would have been because of this experience. The fee is $52 per person and they encourage you to book in advance. We walked up and had to wait an hour before we could get on the tram.
We enjoyed our time in Jasper, but all good things always come to an end sooner than you’d hope. After spending three nights in Jasper, we left early in the morning and drove to Banff. The drive back on the Icefields Parkway was like night and day difference. The smoke was gone by this time, and in the three days that we spent in Jasper, the leaves along the Parkway started to turn colours! Icefields Parkway was lined with trees with varying shades of yellow and I could have driven here all day. Instead of driving straight down Highway 1, we took the Bow Valley Parkway (Highway 1A) when we got to Lake Louise. The drive was slower but more scenic than Highway 1. We stayed at the Ptarmigan Inn in Banff. This was our favourite hotel out of the five that we stayed at. The room was big, it had a nice balcony, lots of storage place, and free breakfast to boot, and all this considering it was the cheapest out of all the hotels in the Rockies. With it being off season, and with Covid, the restaurants in Banff closed early. Like Jasper, you had to wear a mask in the town proper, even when outside. We only spent two nights in Banff and wish we could have stayed longer. We spent an evening watching the stars at Two Jack Lake. We did a short hike on Tunnel Mountain. We had a yummy lunch at Park Distillery. We went shopping, and just spent our last days in the Rockies relaxing.
After the Rockies, we drove back to Calgary and spent a few more nights with my brother before driving back to Winnipeg. It’s funny because it took a pandemic for me to see the Rockies. I’ve lived in Canada for three decades, and although I’ve been to Calgary a couple of times, we never really ventured any farther west than Banff. Later this month, we are heading to Vancouver and to Banff again, another Canadian trip, before international travel opens up again. Worse comes to worst, if we get locked down again later this year, then maybe it’s time to venture out west. I hear Quebec and the Maritimes are nice.
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